This book written by moral philosopher and professor Arianne Shavisi in 2023 deserves to be widely read. She provides fresh insight and understanding into many of today’s most controversial social and cultural issues like gender identity, racism, the cancel culture, Black Lives Matter, political correctness and structural injustice. She provides some concrete examples of how we can use philosophy in our personal decision making to make ethical and lifestyle choices that lead to a better outcome for all. She is an optimist believing that we can make the world a better place if we pull together. I learned so much from this book, I think I will read it again!
Arianne is a feminist who does not scream. Instead she quotes endless facts and numbers to illustrate what is going on in each area and the impact this has on those being disadvantaged by the status quo (and yes sometimes it’s men). Her education includes degrees in natural science and astrophysics. I learned so much about todays societal issues such as racism, gender issues and something called mansplaining (which is when a man (like me) jumps in unsolicited to explain a topic to a woman assuming she needs help understanding it simply because she is a woman). I had never heard of this term before but now that I have, I will try to refrain from doing it.
Here are a couple of examples of how to use philosophy to make the right decision that made real sense to me. A doctor in Africa faced with limited medical resources has to decide will she spend the last of those resources trying to save her patients or will she spend them on an inoculation program to potentially save numerous others who are not currently sick. Applying the principles of Utilitarianism which says to choose the action which brings about the greater good for society, she opts for the inoculation program.
Another powerful but everyday example quoting Kant’s categorical imperative which says choose the action which is the most universable that brings about the maximum good. A man had to decide if he would break a promise, an everyday event. One little promise no big deal right? But if everyone broke promises everyday what kind of society would we have? The correct ethical choice according to Kant – don’t break promises.
This book has very polarized reviews on Amazon. Some like myself (a slight majority) think it is one of the best books ever written on these subjects. Others say it is Marxist propaganda and were so disgusted and they threw it away.
Another example this time about how to combat racism. You are in conversation with someone when they say something like “Well you know what those people are like.” You sense where the conversation is going, are uncomfortable and do not wish to be complicit. So rather than saying nothing you say “No, I don’t know what those people are like, please explain.” And keep repeating this which forces the other person to go out on a limb displaying their racist views which they are less likely to do now that you have called them out about it. If everyone did this… Brilliant I thought.
We tend to live in silos where everyone looks like us, thinks like us, and believes like us. It’s a comfortable existence. Perhaps there is little self awareness of this and consequently, the chance we’ll continue to grow spiritually or intellectually is somewhat diminished. The feelings of differentness yet connectedness we experienced on a recent trip came not only from the travel but from interacting with people who were from 65 different countries!
We met and interacted with people from: Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Nepal, India, Albania, United States, Russia, Italy, Mexico, France, U.K., Greece, Hawaii, French Polynesia, Scotland, China, Japan, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Canada, Argentina, Germany, Thailand, Kenya and from other places we were not aware of. We manouvered around dozens of people on scooters or in a wheel chair due to mobility issues. There were people older than us, younger than us, LGBTQ couples, big people, small people, fit people, unfit people, couples, singles. We saw indigenous street people. It was a sea of diversity. Yet we all are family.
Adrianne is a different type of author for me. She is saying we can make it a better world with greater respect for differences and an open mind. I thoroughly enjoyed her book. I give it 9.5 out of 10. Should be available at your local library.
This is a remarkable book. Not because the author tells us what is right and wrong but because he explains what it is to be human, what humans should be and the relationship between the two, according to the world’s greatest philosophers, theologians and moral thinkers over time. If you have ever wanted to better understand what Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Erasmus, Rousseau, Nietzsche, Mohammed, Marx, Lao Tzu, Hegel, Locke, Kant and Buddha to name a few were trying to say about who we are and how we should live, this is the book for you.
Malik exposes their contributions, contradictions, strengths and weaknesses in layman language using well reasoned argument and humour to get at the way they saw how humans are and the way (at least some of them) thought we ought to be. The way we think about moral issues has changed over time due to social change, history and different cultural perspectives. Think about the moralistic changes you have seen in your own lifetime. We are polarized between those that subscribe to rules based morals as in the monotheistic religions and those what believe we can get at what is right and wrong by using reason and science. Another trending view is that there is no objective moral code at all and that all morals are simply a matter of personal “preference”.
And he writes this book in a way as you read it you think, OK this is his favorite thinker e.g., Hegel, wow. But then he goes on in equally exuberant detail about the next thinker e.g, Nietzche only to expose his limitations and shortcomings too. Malik has no favorite thinker it seems – it is the depth and breadth of his coverage which is simply amazing.
In reading this book I discovered a couple of interesting subjects I wish to follow up on. The first is that of the largest successful slave rebellion the world has ever seen led by Toussaint L’Ouverature in 1696 Santo Domingo (Haiti). A book written years ago about this subject is now high on my list to read: The Black Jacobins. Author Malik says this rebellion was the kernel of anti-colonialism still unfolding today and is as equally as important as the French and American revolutions.
A more recent subject Malik addresses was a book written about dozen years ago entitled When China Rules the World. According to the author Martin Jacques, China is a “civilization” not a nation state, is firmly grounded in its history, has the world’s most competent government with the strongest support and has very different views of how “democracy” should work. We tend to judge China using our western lens assuming that it will become more western. Not true according to the book’s author. It is the world that will become more Chinese as China (and India) assume more global leadership and control in the not too distant future. Perhaps China is not the rogue state we have been led to believe it is. Intriguing indeed.
Just a couple of examples of how stimulating and enjoyable a read this was for me. I rate The Quest for a Moral Compass 5 full stars and will likely read it again.
In this new book, academic Fred Kaplan argues that Abraham Lincoln did not make a major contribution to solving the American race problem – he left the U.S. with it. Tracing Lincoln’s political history from the 1830s to his assassination in 1865, the iconic Lincoln is seen as cautious time and time again about closing the gap between moral idealism and political reality in the elimination of slavery.
Lincoln abhorred slavery and thought it was an abomination. However he was not an abolitionist. Rather he foresaw that the two races – black and white – could never live alongside each other. Hence for him, the solution was voluntary and government assisted emigration of blacks to a new home in Africa or Latin America. Both races would be better off. Slavery would then end of itself at some future date. Was Lincoln right?
At the start of the US Civil War in 1861, there were about two hundred thousand free blacks in the North and at least 4 million black slaves in the Confederacy. Lincoln’s new Republican Party in the 1860 presidential campaign made non-extension of slavery to the territories and preservation of the United States it’s two main lines in the sand. Before Lincoln was elected however, the South could not accept the first line resulting in its secession. After the election, the North could not accept slave states secession thus leading to the U.S. Civil War – and the death of at least 700,000 young Americans. If the Union had accepted peaceful separation of slave states, the country would have been diminished for sure, but slavery would have ended peacefully, at least in the north.
Kaplan goes on the argue that Lincoln wasted the first two years of the Civil War by sticking with Gen George B. McClellan as Chief Army Commander. McClellan, a superb organizer, was reluctant to attack the south because he wanted to leave slavery and the South alone so as to preserve integrity of the country. He ran against Lincoln in the 1864 presidential election on a platform of negotiating peace but lost. Was McClellan right?
In 1863, Lincoln reluctantly issued the Emancipation Proclamation only after having first offered the Confederacy the right of continued constitutionally protected slavery in existing slave states, if they would only first return to the Union. Furthermore, for his continued political support, the proclamation did not apply in the border slave states that had not seceded like Missouri, Kentucky and Maryland. The proclamation was a propaganda document to aid in the Union war effort, only after Lincoln had pleaded with the Confederacy for an alternate solution that preserved slavery says Kaplan.
Kaplan’s thesis is centred on the fact that Lincoln was a long-term supporter of the policies of the American Colonization Society whose goal was not abolition of slavery, but voluntary emigration of free blacks from America. He contrasts this gradualist approach with that of John Quincy Adams (6th U.S. President and prominent statesman) who was an Abolitionist – willing to advocate whatever political action was necessary to immediately end slavery.
Lincoln did go on to abolish slavery with the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in January 1865. But says Kaplan, this had now become politically necessary to restore unity – Lincoln’s first love.
The assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865 immortalized him as the Great Emancipator and most iconic person in American history. Kaplan dares to question some of his thinking. I found this book refreshing but somewhat disturbing and also repetitive in its prose in places. Politicians aren’t perfect it seems, even good old Abraham Lincoln.
Born in Marigny, in the Normandy region of France on April 12, 1813, Isidore Francois Turgis (pronounced ‘turzjee’) loved the classics and the Church. He was ordained on May 31, 1846. During the Crimean War he attempted to served as a chaplain, but was rejected for physical reasons. However, while his flesh was frail, Father Turgis had a spirit of pure steel and his persistence was rewarded in 1857 with an appointment to the Corps of Chaplains. During the Second Italian War of Independence he served with the French army at the battles of Montebello, Palestro, Magenta, Crossing of the Tessin, Marignan, and Solferino. He also served with the French army in Cochin China (Vietnam).
Throughout the 1850s and 60s in France, the french translation of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin was a very popular read. The book brought about a moral revolution in people’s souls that swept across France and inculcated a strong anti-American South sentiment among liberals. The sentimental novel depicts the reality of slavery while also asserting that Christian love can overcome something as destructive as enslavement of fellow human beings. Everyone literally wept as they read it. One, who was so deeply moved after reading the book, was Fr. Turgis. The 47 year old war chaplain veteran and anti-slavery advocate was so affected, that he left immediately for America to live among and minister to the black slaves of Louisiana.
After the American and French revolutions, some European countries had made slavery illegal. Rome responded with an ambiguous pronouncement against the slave trade. American bishops construed the papal decree to mean a ban on the Atlantic slave trade only. Some American bishops even defended the institution of slavery on moral, theological and practical grounds. Hence the Catholic laity of the South based their white supremacist views on both ecclesiastical and regional norms.
Fr. Turgis, arriving in New Orleans in 1860 had little notion of the conflict that was about to engulf them all. Somewhat unexpectedly he found himself appointed to the staff of the St Louis (New Orleans) Cathedral. He still intended to minister to slaves, as there were many free blacks among the cathedral’s congregation.
The sub region of New Orleans and South Louisiana is the one place in the south where the Catholic influence prevailed. New Orleans, the capital city of the slave south, cultivated an attitude of white supremacy of heightened magnitude. The Catholic population joined the Confederate Army for the same reasons their fellow Protestant southerners did – honour, states’ rights, loyalty to home, property rights, perpetuation of slavery and the preservation of white liberties and supremacy.
Amidst the many colourful and unruly regiments formed in New Orleans in the lead up to the American Civil War was the Orleans Guard, a unit of elite white Creoles. After Louisiana seceded from the Union on January 26, 1861, the colourful Louisiana creole native Gen P. G. T. Beauregard left his post as superintendent of the United States Military Academy and enlisted as a private in this battalion of Creole aristocrats.
In March 1862, a flurry of military preparations displaced the monotony of guard duty. U. S. Grant’s Army of the Tennessee was threatening the transportation infrastructure of the Confederacy’s western operations. Generals Albert Sydney Johnston and P. G. T. Beauregard, commanders of the Confederate Army of the Mississippi, summoned reinforcements to meet the Federal encroachment in Tennessee. Creoles of Louisiana, the New Orleans Daily Picayune announced, “Arise! Our Beauregard awaits you; he calls for men in this hour of peril. Haste to his side ere the enemy surround him.” The Orleans Guards answered the call, mustering 411 soldiers into the Confederate Army for a ninety day service period. Major Leon Queyrouze, a prominent businessman and Catholic Mason, was commissioned to lead the battalion. Archbishop Odin designated Fr. Turgis, the anti-slavery, war veteran as its chaplain. A feat in itself as the bulk of Confederate officers were Protestant and refused to accept priests as chaplains, even for Catholic men. Turgis hoped that he would not have to preach often as a chaplain in the Confederate Army: “God give me strength for I am not a good preacher.”
The organization of the chaplaincy in the Confederate Army was poor. President Davis did not have a high opinion of clergy in general and there was a strong feeling of the need to keep religion and state separate. Consequently, the appointment or election of chaplains was haphazard, their pay poor, their status low and their duties not clear in comparison with the Union, who considered chaplains essential to the men’s spiritual needs. Chaplains were responsible for religious ceremonies which generally meant for Protestants, preaching and for Catholics, dispensing the sacraments. In time’s of battle, the chaplain was also expected to assist wounded soldiers and was usually stationed near the field hospital. By seeking to aid the wounded of both sides, chaplains believed they provided an important contribution as Christians in overcoming the horrors of war.
Lecorps des Créoles d’élite left New Orleans on March 18, 1862 bound for Grand Junction, Tennessee with their Chaplain, Fr. Turgis. The veteran of the Italian War steadied his resolve to administer the sacraments to traditionally uninterested Catholics. As the soldiers experienced their first casualties the Orleans Guard turned to their chaplain for spiritual reinforcement. Everyone began attending Mass on Sunday. Turgis talked about the common circumstances of each soldier in a way that drove many to tears.
As the Orleans Guards paused under a line of trees prior to engagement in the Battle of Shiloh, you could hear a pin drop – the gravity of their situation struck the absolved Catholics. After an exchange of friendly fire with the 6th Kentucky, 2 men died. “Oh, what horror is war” proclaimed one soldier. They had been mistaken for Union forces because of their blue uniforms.
As they prepared for an assault on Day 2 on the Union defences that would later be referred to “the hornet’s nest” there was much fear and tension. Then “It was truly horrendous as we ascended the hill to see men coming down bathed in their own blood. The sight of the dead and the rush of the fight made each soldier vie with the other to thrust forward to kill a Yankee. Each focussed on the death around them and the potential for personal death increasing with every step forward.”
When a soldier fell, Turgis would run to him. He would apply first aid or administer the last sacraments to comfort his dying moments. In a final gesture, the anointed with Holy Oil, forgave the soldier’s sins for the last time and scanned the field for more injured Catholics, all within direct line of fire. “Our chaplain Fr Turgis was all the time at our side, with unceasing encouragement always maintaining remarkable self-control” observed one witness.
Here is the content of a letter written after Shiloh that Fr. Turgis wrote to Archbishop Jean-Marie Odin in which he modestly told him not to believe what the newspapers were saying about his valour at Shiloh:
Turgis begs pardon for not having given (Odin) any sign of life since the terrible days of (April) 6 and 7. He has been trying ever since, as much as his energy permits, to make himself useful visiting the 18th, 24th, 17th, 13th and 4th regiments at Corinth, in all 296 sick, of whom 207 have confessed and 121 have received Communion. He begs (Odin) to believe nothing which newspapers say in his regard, the Orleans Guards are so favourable to him that they exaggerate everything, regarding as self-sacrifice that which is only the accomplishment of a duty. About the Battle (of Shiloh): There were about 18 to 20 thousand Catholics, all speaking or understanding French, and he was the only priest. He gave absolution for 18 hours without stopping, but he cannot prevent himself from weeping continually in thinking about those thousands of Catholics who asked for him and whom it was impossible to see. The pastor of the cathedral had told him there would be 6 or 7 priests and that he would be unneeded, but without him the elite of their Creole population would have been exposed to being lost for eternity.
After the war, the surviving members of the Guards petitioned Archbishop Odin to establish a parish church in New Orleans exclusively for the Catholic veterans and their chère Père Turgis. Partly due to Fr Turgis poor health, the Archbishop gave them the old Mortuary Chapel on Rampart Street which would also serve as a Fr. Turgis place of retirement. Turgis faced a dilemma of conscience. Should he now seek to fulfill his original intention of serving the black population of Louisiana counter to the Archbishop’s mandate to not empower blacks? He chose to continue in his sense of duty to his white Creole flock.
Refusing to retire, Fr. Turgis fulfilled promises he had made to dying soldiers on the field that we would take care of their families. He became the director of the Southern Hospital for invalid soldiers and founding administrator of the Marigny Asylum for widows and orphans of deceased confederates.
The boys from the battlefield had developed a craving for the sacraments during the fear and urgency of battle now came for sacraments because it was Fr. Turgis who was dispensing them. It was he they came to see and be with in quiet reflection in his room behind the altar. Here they remembered themselves before defeat. It was a private venue where veterans went to be with other veterans, away from public opinion.
The veterans represented there were of every creed – Catholic, Protestant, Hebrew and Atheist. Brotherly love of the battlefield was the focus more than sacramentality. Turgis catered to the religious diversity by focusing on their common experience of war. “They loved to come to him to talk over the days that had so bitterly tried their souls.”
On March 3, 1868, Fr. Turgis died from stomach cancer and fatigue. A loose group of veterans took responsibility to plan and fund his funeral. Initially a monument was proposed but the idea was discarded because Turgis had been too humble and modest to want such a grand tomb. Confederates from as far away as Baton Rouge came to his funeral which was one of the largest the city had ever seen. Pallbearers included Gen PGT Beauregard, Gen Randall Gibson and Maj Leon Queyrouze. Thousands of veterans wore their Confederate uniforms. It was an opportunity to remember the virtue of the South through the person of Turgis.
While Fr. Turgis never did get to minister to black African slaves, he was there for his boys and their families:
“He was essentially a man of duty, a rebel soldier remembered, it ruled his brain, fired his heart. Duty, according to Turgis, constituted a total devotion to whomever or whatever one was ordered to attend. He obeyed the archdiocesan directive to lead the veterans’ chapel. He also obeyed his heart, which had grown to love his boys from the battlefield.”
Turgis treated the veterans as fellow brothers-in-arms even though he did not support the Lost Cause of the war or slavery. He did not mourn with them but supported those who were mourning. He remained indifferent to the loss but sympathetic to those who lost. The chaplain and the veterans made a tacit agreement to forget temporarily each other’s disagreements over the rightness or wrongness of the war. By means of his personal bravery and accompaniment of Confederate soldiers, Fr. Turgis’ spirit transcended the war and lifted many up. He deserves to be called an American Hero.
Our Lady of Guadalupe Church today is administered by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate
Sources
I am indebted to Prof. Michael Pasquier who put his MA Thesis on this subject on line. He now teaches religious history at Louisiana State University. I also consulted Gardiner Shattuck’s 1985 book A Shield and Hiding Place which provided useful information on the role of chaplains and the Church during the ACW. I also consulted T. Harry Williams 1995 book P.G.T. Beauregard – Napoleon in Gray for his write up of the Battle of Shiloh. The following blog provided some background information on Fr. Turgis: https://almostchosenpeople.wordpress.com/2014/05/25/father-turgis-preacher-by-deeds-not-words/#more-9891
In a spirited, energetic and passionate talk, Imam Dr. Mohamad Jebara took us on an educational ride through the key role women have played in Islam religion and Muslim society on a historical basis. He is resident scholar at Ottawa’s Cordova Centre. The centre is committed to making the world a better place through inter-faith dialogue that inspires all people to work together. He was the lead off speaker in what promises to be a very enriching lunch and learn series at the Galilee Centre in Arnprior, entitled Faith and Inclusivity: The Gift of the Other.
His Eminence, Imam Mohamad Jebara
First we had lunch – and what a delicious lunch it was! An authentic Syrian meal including spiced chicken, rice, kale, salad, Turkish delight followed by Arabic tea. It was prepared to perfection by Karyma Nafea, wife of Abdel who is from Aleppo and on the staff of Galilee. We learned that Turkish delight was actually first created in Damascus some 6000 years ago and should really be named “Syrian delight”. The memorable meal was authentic mid-eastern with wonderful spices and colour.
After welcoming us by chanting a 1000 year old Arabic greeting, Mohamad explained that he would be telling us the answer to the question ” Are women in Islam incomplete and unable to define themselves as fulfilled?” There are many words for “woman” in Arabic. The one he was using today was “imra’ah” which means mirror or reflection. I groaned to myself as I was 1 of only 3 men in the 15 member audience. “What kind of topic is this for me?” I wondered.
Using colourful images and expressive gestures, Mohamad went on to explain the long important role women have played in Islam. Starting with the Prophet Muhammad’s upbringing, he introduced to us 5 different women who had nurtured the Prophet and inspired him to achieve great things as his mentors and protectors. He continued with the history of many other Muslim women who had been chief magistrates, founders of universities, scholars and muftis (archbishops), during the golden years of Islamic society from the 8th to the 13th century.
At a time when the rest of the world, from Greece and Rome to India and China, considered women as no better than children or even slaves, with no rights whatsoever, Islam acknowledged women’s equality with men in a great many respects. The Quran states:
“And among His signs is this: that He created mates for you from yourselves that you may find rest and peace of mind in them, and He ordained between you love and mercy. Certainly, herein indeed are signs for people who reflect.” [Noble Quran 30:21]
“Women complete men and men complete women. They are equals.” Muhammad explained. So what happened? Why do we have such visible inequality of women in Islam e.g., the “mahram system” that can effectively make a woman a prisoner in her own house? The destruction of 12 million Islam books during the Mongol invasion (13th century) and the Crusades (11th to 13th century) ended the golden years and extinguished education particularly for Islamic women. Other cultural changes that have been confused with religion, have relegated Islamic women to inferior status. Culture informs religion. Most Muslims do not know their own rich history.
We in the west think that we are much wiser having empowered women in our society. Not so fast. Just look at as the Hollywood meltdown and the #Metoo campaign currently underway I thought. Muhammad finished with:
“A successful society is one that empowers women. Empowering women empowers us all.”
Wow, we have just been treated to a rich Islamic fruitcake I thought.
.. now I am not so sure. This has nothing to do with Justin Trudeau or Kathleen Wynne.
I just finished reading The World Turned Upside Down – the Global Battle over God, Truth, and Power written in 2010 by Melanie Phillips. Who is Melanie Philips?
She is a British journalist with a long history. Jewish by birth she was a “liberal” who was criticized about her views on science, gay rights, climate change, Palestinian rights, feminism, multiculturalism and Islam – all non negotiables of the left. She is now seen as right-wing. You can read about her past and present here.
I came across this book in the surplus bin at the library just before fleeing winter, and brought it along.
Her thesis is freedom is giving way to coercion in the West. People now assume that to be secular is to be enlightened and to be religious is to be irrational.
Objectivity that once allowed us to be sure of who we are as individuals and as a nation, has all been eroded away. Our culture has been upended by moral and cultural relativism. This is the fruit of the Enlightenment where individual reason becomes king over the Church and frees us from hierarchical structures. But political correctness reigns supreme based on a culture of victim-hood and promoting minority rights. The majority culture is wrong and needs to apologize. Reason and democracy have been hijacked by the forces of the left which cannot tolerate dissent.
Truth is now subjective – whatever I want it to be. I interpret the world from my viewpoint and that is my Truth. Yours is whatever your experience says it is for you. We are no longer a society built on the solid bedrock of Judeo-Christian theology. We have abandoned belief in the supernatural in the name of science, materialism and naturalism, all darlings of the left. Yet science divorced from religion has not been able to answer the basic questions like why we are here or where we came from.
I found her arguments very plausible in explaining how we got into the mess we are in today. She is particularly critical of the failed Church of England and reminds us that the religious goal of Islam is world domination. Israel is in the forefront of confronting Islam and has a right to defend itself. It is in our interests to support it.
Furthermore, Britain is in the forefront of western societal decay and with garbage piled high and feral children roaming the streets – Londonistan.
What is chilling is that 6 years later we have “Brexit” – Britain has indeed had enough of the leftist European Union pluralistic, all cultures are equal rhetoric. America too has had enough of Obamaism and Clintonism and elected Donald Trump to make the U.S. great again. Authoritarian type governments are gaining power in Poland, Spain, Turkey and elsewhere. Is Canada next? Are we immune?
While I did not read every chapter of this heavily documented work, in the moment I give it a strong 4.5 out of 5 stars for making me think enough to reassess my values.
A book published in 2000 jam packed with detailed information about various recent violent conflicts that have tragically affected dozens of ethno-religous communities and challenged those seeking to bring about reconciliation and peace. The ambivalence is about how often those with religious conviction use their religion and influence to either bring about the violence in the first place (e.g. jihad) or seek to mitigate it (e.g. the Catholic Community of Saint Egidio. http://www.santegidio.org) Religious extremists can be on both sides of a conflict and fully justify it’s propagation in the name of God e.g., the current deadly Sunni-Shite conflict in Syria, the Catholic-Protestant “Troubles” in Northern Ireland.
Suffice it to say that the author goes into excrutiating detail about the factions involved in a large number of late 20th century world conflicts like the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq, Guatemala, Mozambique, Ireland, the Philippines, East Timor. I could not get through it all.
I loved his analysis of militants and religious tolerance based on Diana Eck’s writings:
” Eclusivists” are enclave builders – there is only one way of understanding reality and interpreting the sacred.
“Inclusivists” hold that while there are many religious traditions, communities and truths, one particular tradition is the culmination of the others and is superior and comprehensive enough to include the others in a subordinate position.
“Pluralists” say that truth is not the exclusive possession of any one tradition or community. Rather, this diversity is not an obstacle to overcome but an opportunity for engagement and dalogue with others.
Religious communities such as the Mennonites have a strong call to peace and have been instrumental in teaching people how to bring about peace using their own local cultural tools and traditions. Powerful example. By contrast, Buddhists seeking inner peace are less likely to get involved collectively in conflict resolution work. And of course the extremist Muslim groups such as Hezbolah and Al-Queda are painted as the most intolerant and dangerous. The story of Islam reformer Abu Nasr Zayd is particularly disheartening: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasr_Abu_Zayd
Catholics have been world stage in bringing about peace e.g, Pope John Paul II in Poland and bringing down repressive communist regimes. However Appleby reminds us that in 1968 the RC Bishops in South America affirmed that Christians must pursue political justice, a statement that many took in support of liberation theology protests in Argentina, Brazil and elswhere. So called “Bible and Bazooka” groups.
I recommend this book for those interested in the interaction of religion, conflict and reconciliation as well as recent world history. An exhaustive read but formidable in its scope and insight.
I was summoned for jury selection this week and not selected. There were 80 potential jurors there and my juror number was not called. It took about 90 minutes to obtain 12 jurists and 2 alternates.
As I was sitting in the court sweating it – what if I get selected -? It was for a sex assault charge that the judge said would take the rest of the week to conclude.
As I sat there, I decided that I would serve and not try to get out of my civic responsibility. Now if it had been a trial expected to last several months, that would have been different. The Superior Court sits in Pembroke, ON an hour by car each way from my home.
Everyone it seemed in that court room was sweating and praying they would not be selected. About half those who were called up asked the judge to be excused for a variety of reasons – health, family, job. It was kind of appalling to see.
Fortunately, a sufficient number of jurors did not try to evade their civic responsibility and were accepted by the opposing attorneys.
The judge was very accommodating and thanked us all for coming. He went on to explain that it is every citizen’s responsibility to serve on a jury if selected – it is a corner piece of our democratic society – it can be a rewarding experience of bonding with others and reaching a common decision. He also reminded us that now that we know how it works, to better clear the deck next time of upcoming responsibilities and be prepared to say yes.
I guess he is right but many of us don’t seem to consider this a desireable or worthy way to spend our precious time given all the other responsibilities we shoulder. It is all about time crunch!
Enough said. Fulfilling one’s civic duties like jury duty or voting for that matter is not high on our bucket lists anymore.
My sincere thanks to all those people who do serve on juries and to those who work in the justice system for carrying out justice as best they can in a reluctant society.
Epilogue
After returning home I called Elections Canada because I had not received a voters card. Marie had. I was told I was not in the system at all. Sometimes this happens explained the service agent. Alas the online system for self-registering was down and I was told I can register the day of the election at the polling booth. I hope this is true as by then it will be too late to correct. A reluctant society – an ambivalent government.
In 2008 Marie and I had the pleasure of visiting Lesbos, the Greek Island where 4000 Syrian refugees are now fleeing to each day.
We were only there for a few hours while on an Eastern Med cruise. I remember being excited about embarking in Greece for the first time, even if Lesbos is off the main tourist route and lesser known.
It was a peaceful place with plenty of young and older folk and fresh fish in the marketplace. Here are a few pics from our brief stay there.
The port is pretty laid back.
A quiet side street.
St. Therapon Church, dating from the early 19th century.
The altar. A mix of Byzantine, Gothic and Baroque elements.
Fresh fish store.
A thriving young community.
Things are not so calm there now. Lesbos is about 10 km off the coast of Turkey in the Aegean Sea. Thousands of Syrian refugees are making the hazardous voyage in rafts and rubber dinghies every day. Just today another 34 people drowned when their boat flipped however this was near a another smaller island further south.
What to make of the Syrian refugee crisis? They need the world’s help and they need it now. However it seems even Germany now is reaching the breaking point of handling the influx of migrant families.
What is going on? We all understand the humanitarian crisis as millions flee from war torn Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. However it is much more difficult to understand who is fighting who in Syria’s civil war and what is the likely outcome. I fault the Canadian media for not better explaining to us what is being done by Canada and our allies to thwart ISIS and Al-Queda in their relentless pursuit of world chaos.
I support increasing and speeding up the entry of Syrians and other legitimate refugees into Canada. I also think we should be using our military to fight ISIS and Al-Queda with the goal of ending the violence which threatens to overwhelm the western world.
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